May 23, 2022. Having come to the end of my undergraduate education, it seems like a fitting time to look back at all of the courses I took over my four years at UBC. For each course I have taken, I will list the content covered, give my impressions and opinions, and give two ratings from 1-5; one of the difficulty of the course (relative to when I took it), and another on my overall enjoyment of it. Hopefully this will be a nice way to reflect on all I have learned, and also provide a resource for future physics/math students at UBC for course selection!

Contents

  1. Physics
  2. Math
  3. Computer Science
  4. Biology
  5. Chemistry
  6. Arts

1. Physics

SCIE 001 - Science One Physics

  • Instructors: James Charbonneau & Robert Raussendorf
  • Textbook: Physics for Scientists and Engineers by Knight.
  • Topics Covered: Translational Kinematics (Newton’s Laws, Momentum), The Euler Method, Thermodynamics (Energy, Temperature, Laws of Thermodynamics, Heat Engines, Entropy), Rotational Kinematics (Newton’s Laws for Rotations, Angular Momentum), Special Relativity (Time Dilation, Length Contraction, Relativity of Simultaneity, Relativistic Momentum and Energy), Waves (Mathematical Description, Standing Waves and Music, Interference), Quantum Mechanics (Double Slit Experiment, Schrodinger Equation, Stern-Gerlach and Spin), Electrostatics (Electric Fields, Gauss’s Law, Electric Potential), Circuits (Current, Resistance, Kirchhoff’s Laws, Capacitance (Magnetic Fields, Induction, Faraday’s Law).
  • Thoughts: This course inspired me to pursue Physics. Both James and Robert were fantastic teachers, making the course not only interesting but supremely enjoyable. The thermodynamics, special relativity, waves and quantum mechanics units were the personal highlights.
  • Difficulty Rating: 3.5/5 - A definite step up from high school physics, and some of the units were quite conceptually challenging (e.g. thermodynamics, special relativity, quantum mechanics).
  • Overall Rating: 5/5 - I can’t imagine a better introduction to the subject.

PHYS 107 - Enriched Experimental Physics I

  • Instructor: Joss Ives
  • Textbook: None.
  • Topics Covered: Experimental Design and Iteration, Using Excel, Uncertainty Estimation, Uncertainty Propogation, Mean and Standard Deviation, Model Fitting and Residuals. Experiments done were Hooke’s Law, Pendulum Period, Single-Slit Diffraction, RC Circuits, Light Intensity.
  • Thoughts: I definitely appreciate this course more in retrospect (though I may be biased as I have now TA’d it a few times). I find myself still coming back to the lessons learned in this course years later when thinking about measurements, uncertainty, and statistics; thus (to me) showing that the course did a great job in laying the groundwork of experimental investigation. Joss and the TAs (Austin de St. Croix, Adam Dvorak) were all very experienced and helpful. The format of having to finish the entire lab and hand in notebooks at the end of period I found stressful at the time, but also helps to keep the lab contained. The Single-Slit Diffraction lab and the Light Intensity Labs were my favourites.
  • Difficulty Rating: 3.5/5 - There are quite a few new concepts here and being such a departure from previous encounters with experiments, it can be a lot to take in. The pacing is also a bit stressful.
  • Overall Rating: 3.5/5 - I honestly didn’t enjoy the course too much at the time, so don’t want to rate it too high; that said it is a course that I find extremely valuable in retrospect and can almost universally recommend.

PHYS 109 - Enriched Experimental Physics II

  • Instructor: Joss Ives
  • Textbook: None.
  • Topics Covered: Everything covered in PHYS 107, as well as Log-log/semi-log plots and \(\chi^2\) fitting. Experiments done were Radiation shielding, Index of refraction, Spring-mass oscillation, Distance dependence of quadrapole potential, LR circuits, Standing waves.
  • Thoughts: The same comments apply from the 107 labs. More of the experiments here were over two weeks, and having already learned many of the basic concepts these experiments felt like using the toolset we had built up in 107; therefore it overall felt less stressful. I also found a higher proportion to be interesting (radiation shielding, index of refraction, quadrapole potential, standing waves) so I enjoyed these labs a little more. One note for future students: The structure of the first-year labs has now changed, so the sequence is now PHYS 119 in first term and PHYS 129 in second term (for Science One/Honours Physics students).
  • Difficulty Rating: 3/5 - Easier to deal with after the slight cognitive overload of concepts in 107.
  • Overall Rating: 4/5 - Many small factors that make the second half of first-year labs slightly more enjoyable.

PHYS 200 - Relativity and Quanta

  • Instructor: Douglas Scott
  • Textbook: Special Relativity by Helliwell.
  • Topics Covered: Historical Development of Special Relativity, Time Dilation, Length Contraction, Relativity of Simultaneity, Lorentz Transformations, Spacetime Intervals and Invariants, Relativistic Momentum and Energy, Historical Development of Quantum, Photoelectric Effect, Quantum States and Eigenstates, Superposition, Position and Momentum Wavefunctions, Measurement, Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, Time Evolution and the Schrodinger Equation, Infinite Square Well, Absorption and Emission.
  • Thoughts: This course was fun! I do wish it was more mathematically rigorous, but that has to wait until later courses. Douglas was a very sarcastic and entertaining lecturer. It is notable that around 50% of the material will be review coming from Science One.
  • Difficulty Rating: 3/5 - Relativity and QM are notorious for being tricky conceptually. But if one engages with the course material, doing well is not too difficult.
  • Overall Rating: 3.5/5 - Fun, but has the potential to be better! Perhaps I would have also enjoyed it a bit more if I hadn’t learned the concepts already in Science One.

PHYS 203 - Thermal Physics I

  • Instructor: Joanna Karczmarek
  • Textbook: An Introduction to Thermal Physics by Schroeder.
  • Topics Covered: Probability, Laws of Thermodynamics, Temperature, The Partition Function, Ideal Gases, Equipartition Theorem, Heat Capacities, Heat Engines, Macrostates and Microstates, Entropy, 2-State Paramagnet, Einstein Solid, Enthalpy and Free Energy, Chemical Potential, Thermochemistry, Thermodynamics of Water, The Steam Engine, Canonical and Grand Canonical Ensembles, Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein Statistics, Density of States, Blackbody Radiation.
  • Thoughts: Super interesting material. Joanna is a very acute and clear prof, and the class has a nice style of being mixed lecture/tutorial (with the first part of each class being lecture with clicker problems, and the second part working on problems as a group). The statistical mechanics portions of the course are by far my favourite, and I loved seeing how previous familiar results from thermodynamics fall out of statistical mechanics. The thermochemistry portion of the course was not conceptually or mathematically difficult but strangely gave me quite a bit of trouble (mostly with signs and what quantities to use), and I don’t think I understood Fermi-Dirac/Bose-Einstein statistics or Density of States until the fourth year stat mech course. But overall covers so much neat material and covers it so well that I don’t have much to complain about.
  • Difficulty Rating: 4.5/5 - Covers a lot of material, and a lot of it is novel and not initially intuitive.
  • Overall Rating: 5/5 - The best second-year physics course by some margin.

PHYS 210 - Introduction to Computational Physics

  • Instructor: Carl Michal
  • Textbook: None; but Think Python by Downey was an optional resource.
  • Thoughts: Linux and Terminal Usage, Coding in Python, Numbers and Strings, NumPy, Arrays and Broadcasting, Functions, File I/O, Conditionals, SciPy Fitting, Loops, Matplotlib, Containers, Animation, Numerical Methods for ODEs and PDEs, Simulations.
  • Topics Covered: This course teaches you how to program like a physicist (i.e. it does a good job teaching you what you need to know to get programming, if not as formal as you would learn in a computer science program). At the end I came out with a nice grasp of basic python. Carl and the TAs (particular shoutout to Colby Delise) are super helpful with helping you to learn and troubleshoot, which is super important for an intro programming course where the potential for frustration is high. The assessments were super fair; it was the first course pre-COVID where googling anything during programming tests was allowed. Simulation projects that made up the second half of the course were the highlight; the Ising model and Gas simulations were my favourites.
  • Difficulty Rating: 2.5/5 - I think the difficulty of this course largely boils down to how quickly one can become comfortable with programming; I didn’t struggle with it too much, but could see it being more difficult for others. I could certainly see some prior experience with programming helping.
  • Overall Rating: 4/5 - A good intro to Physics programming, with some great projects!

PHYS 216 - Intermediate Mechanics

  • Instructor: Ludovic Van Waerbeke
  • Textbook: Classical Mechanics by Taylor.
  • Topics Covered: Newton’s Laws, Cylindrical/Spherical Polar Coordinates, Air Resistance and Trajectories, Charge in B-field, Momentum, Angular Momentum, Kinetic and Potential Energy, Conservative Forces, Simple Harmonic Motion, Damped and Driven Damped Oscillators, The Euler-Lagrange Equations, Lagrangian Mechanics, The Two-Body Problem, Kepler Orbits, Non-Inertial Frames, Fictitious Forces, Rigid Body Rotation, The Inertia Tensor.
  • Thoughts: A good re-intro to mechanics! Ludo is clear and also very rigorous (and he makes a point of instilling this rigour in the students, which I think is very useful). First half of the course is first-year material but done more formally, now that students are more familiar with vectors and calculus (so doesn’t feel like a waste of time). Second half of the course is where the course really picks up, with highlights like Lagrangian mechanics, orbital mechanics, non-inertial frames, and rotation.
  • Difficulty Rating: 3.5/5 - Definitely trickier than previous encounters with mechanics, and there is a lot to chew on; but nothing that can’t be understood with effort and time spend solving problems.
  • Overall Rating: 3.5/5 - Overall an enjoyable course that formalizes what came before, and introduces many new enjoyable topics in mechanics.

PHYS 219 - Intermediate Experimental Physics I

  • Instructors: Rob Kiefl & Andrzej Kotlicki
  • Textbook: None.
  • Topics Covered: Circuit Construction, Oscilloscopes, Function Generators, RC Circuits, AC Filters, LCR Circuits, Semiconductor Diodes, Transistors, Operational Amplifiers, AM Radio Receivers.
  • Thoughts: Probably my least favourite lab course of the bunch. Tutorials were confusing and the course as a whole was quite time-consuming between longer experiments and lab reports. The experiments all center around circuits which aren’t really my cup of tea in terms of areas of physics (really felt like an engineering course at times). I did come out with a good grasp of the basics of circuits though, and with effort it isn’t hard to do well. Luke Reynolds was an absolute gem of a TA, and I was blessed to have him here (as well as two more courses after this). The final project at the end of building a AM Radio from all the components learned in the course thus far was a really good way to end off the course.
  • Difficulty Rating: 2.5/5 - The course is more time-consuming than difficult, but does occasionally require banging one’s head against the wall (or calling a TA for help) when things don’t work.
  • Overall Rating: 2.5/5 - Not particularly fun, but saved by a great final project and TA.

PHYS 229 - Intermediate Experimental Physics II

  • Instructor: Douglas Bonn
  • Textbook: None.
  • Topics Covered: Experimental Design and Iteration, Scientific Writing, Producing Figures. Experiments done were determining the transfer function of a system via Fourier analysis, Measurement of the gas constant, and Measuring heat expansion of metal with laser interferometry.
  • Thoughts: Though PHYS 219 in the previous term had my expectations low, this lab course was a hit! You get to choose three experiments you want to do throughout the term, and there are some really interesting choices available (e.g. how do you measuring the gas constant with a toy syringe, heat expansion measured using lasers, harmonics of a 3D box). The course also had a nice overarching theme/goal of learning how to write scientific papers. Doug is also a standout prof, being super pedagogical and patient.
  • Difficulty Rating: 2.5/5 - All experiments in the course have problems to work through, but with thought and effort it is not hard to do well.
  • Overall Rating: 4.5/5 - My favourite lab course of my undergrad.

PHYS 301 - Electricity and Magnetism

  • Instructor: Joerg Rottler
  • Textbook: Introduction to Electrodynamics by Griffiths.
  • Topics Covered: Vector Fields, Div-Grad-Curl, The Dirac Delta Function, The Electric Field, Gauss’s LawElectric Potential, Work and Energy, Conductors, Laplace’s Equation, The Method of Images, Separation of Variables, Multipole Expansion, Polarization, Electric Displacement, Dielectrics, Lorentz Force Law, Biot-Savart Law, Ampere’s Law, Magnetic Vector Potential, Magnetization, Auxiliary Fields, Electromagnetic Induction, Faraday’s Law, Maxwell’s Equations.
  • Thoughts: Very bread and butter physics course in terms of content, but done very well. All problems in the course were symbolic, which was greatly appreciated. Joerg was a good lecturer, with lectures having a nice clicker/problem solving format. Denis Uhland was possibly the friendliest TA I have ever had. The highlight of the course for me was the Method of Images; such a beautiful way to solve differential equations, just using symmetry!
  • Difficulty Rating: 3.5/5 - Geometry gives me some trouble, so I struggled at times; but if your vector calculus chops are up to speed then the course shouldn’t give you too much trouble.
  • Overall Rating: 4/5 - Standard material delivered well; E&M is my least favourite physics subfield, but I did enjoy this course.

PHYS 304 - Introduction to Quantum Mechanics

  • Instructor: Jeff Young
  • Textbook: Introduction to Quantum Mechanics by Griffiths.
  • Topics Covered: The Schrodinger Equation, Probability, Position and Momentum, The Uncertainty Principle, Stationary States, the Infinite Square Well, The Quantum Harmonic Oscillator, The Free Particle, The Gaussian Wavepacket, the Finite Square Well, Hilbert Space, Hermitian Operators, General Uncertainty Principle, Time-Energy Uncertainty Principle, The Schrodinger Equation in 3D, Radial Potentials and Spherical Harmonics, The Hydrogen Atom, Angular Momentum, Spin.
  • Thoughts: A nice first (real) quantum mechanics course, diving into the mathematics (and not just the concepts) of quantum. First half of the course with solving the SE for different potentials was a bit on the meh side (though there are valuable lessons learned from each of these cases, and the quantum harmonic oscillator is a neat problem), but gets more fun in the second half with topics such as the bra-ket formalism and angular momentum. The tutorials lead by Arnab Adhikary were easily the best part of the course, where many interesting problems were tackled.
  • Difficulty Rating: 3.5/5 - Can be occasionally tricky as many of the problems dealt with are departures from techniques used in other parts of physics.
  • Overall Rating: 3.5/5 - Certainly enjoyable, but unfortunately the first course in quantum mechanics is left having to cover some content that isn’t the most interesting.

PHYS 306 - Advanced Mechanics

  • Instructor: Joerg Rottler
  • Textbook: Classical Mechanics by Taylor.
  • Topics Covered: The Variational Principle, Generalized Momenta and Ignorable Coordinates, Lagrange’s Equations for Holonomic Systems, Lagrangians for Electromagnetic Fields, Symmetries and Conservation Laws, Lagrange Multipliers, Coupled Oscillators, Normal Coordinates, Non-inertial Frames, Focault Pendulum, Rigid Body Rotational Motion, Inertia Tensor, Principle Axes of Inertia, Euler’s Equations, Spinning Top, Euler Angles, Hamiltonian Mechanics, Phase Space and Canonical Transformations, The Poisson Bracket, Liouville’s Theorem, Scattering Theory, Differential Cross Section, The Wave Equation, Stress and Strain, Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos.
  • Thoughts: All the fun stuff left in mechanics now that the fundamentals have been covered in 216. Some of the material is revisited (e.g. Lagrangian Mechanics) but is explored with more depths. Some neat problems, though the course as a whole is pretty heavy handed with the amount of algebra required. The initial worksheet format of the lectures didn’t work great for me as online made collaboration difficult, but the course adapted later on. Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics are probably the most core and interesting parts of the course. Unfortunate that the Hamilton-Jacobi formulation wasn’t covered. My lecture notes for this course can be found here.
  • Difficulty Rating: 3.5/5 - Some tricky topics (rigid body rotation especially), but with practice/effort not too hard to do well.
  • Overall Rating: 3.5/5 - An enjoyable second course in classical mechanics, though nothing to rave about.

PHYS 319 - Electronics Laboratory

  • Instructor: Andrzej Kotlicki
  • Textbook: Introduction to Embedded Systems by Jimenez/Palomera/Couvertier
  • Topics Covered: Circuit Design, “Programming” in Binary, Programming in Assembly, Programming in C, Using various electronic components (such as LED displays, buzzers, microphones, temperature sensors, and ultrasonic sensors).
  • Thoughts: Very project driven course. A surprising amount of ground is covered (whirlwind tour through binary, assembly, and C with some initial labs) and a personal project to drive it home (with the potential to create a lot of neat stuff). However, when things didn’t work in this course, it was beyond frustrating, and unfortunately a lot of the course is spent troubleshooting. Our section was blessed with two amazing lab TAs (Luke Reynolds and Colby DeLise) which were very helpful in these frustrating moments. Andrzej was very helpful as well. However I do feel that this is less of a physics course and more of an engineering course.
  • Difficulty Rating: 2.5/5 - Can be tricky (particularly troubleshooting and working out problems in low-level languages), but you are guaranteed to do well if you put in the effort.
  • Overall Rating: 3.5/5 - Quite fun when things work, frustrating when they don’t.

PHYS 401 - Electromagnetic Theory

  • Instructor: Kristin Schleich
  • Textbook: Introduction to Electrodynamics by Griffiths and The Feynman Lectures on Physics Volume II by Feynman/Leighton/Sands.
  • Topics Covered: Maxwell’s Equations in Vacuum, Plane Waves, Poynting Vectors, Intensity, Polarization, Scalar and Vector Potentials, Gauges, Maxwell’s Equations in Dielectrics, Reflection and Transmission at an Interface, EM Waves in Ohmic Conductors, Frequency Dependence of Index of Refraction, Phase and Group Velocity, Slab Waveguide, Rectangular Waveguide, Transmission Lines, Retarded Potentials, Electric Dipole Radiation, Magnetic Dipoles, Lienard-Wiechert Potentials, Fields from Moving Charges, Special Relativity, Four-Vectors, Physics in Minkowski Spacetime, Relativistic Dynamics, Transformations of Electromagnetic Fields.
  • Thoughts: Lectures were clear and well-delivered, but otherwise I didn’t enjoy this course at all. The material failed to engage me for the most part; but this can be just a subjective dislike of E&M compared to other subfields of physics. The special relativity unit at the end was the only highlight for me content-wise (everything else lacked the intrigue that physics courses usually inspire). The homeworks and exams had a bizarre emphasis on numbers; I personally think calculators should be thrown out of physics courses after second year. Candice Ip was a great TA and made the course bearable.
  • Difficulty Rating: 4/5 - Quite a few nontrivial derivations that can be difficult to wrap your head around.
  • Overall Rating: 2/5 - Disappointing, but also possible that I just dislike E&M.

PHYS 402 - Applications of Quantum Mechanics

  • Instructor: Robert Raussendorf
  • Textbook: Modern Quantum Mechanics by Sakurai/Napolitano.
  • Topics Covered: The Stern-Gerlach Experiment, Bra-Ket Formalism, Quantum Measurement, Observables, Position and Momentum, The Schrodinger Equation, The Heisenberg Picture, Ehrenfest’s Theorem, The Quantum Harmonic Oscillator, Entanglement and Its Applications, The No-Cloning Theorem, Density Operators, Impossibility of Superluminal Communication, Quantum Cryptography, Noether’s Theorem, Parity Symmetry, Lattice Translation and Bloch’s Theorem, Rotational Symmetry, Eigenvalues of Angular Momentum, Addition of Angular Momentum, The Wigner-Eckart Theorem, Time-Independent Perturbation Theory, Time-Dependent Perturbation Theory, The WKB Approximation.
  • Thoughts: Awesome course. Robert’s approach (following Sakurai loosely) felt more mathematically formal compared to other physics courses, which probably lead to my added enjoyment of the course. This course felt like a self-contained journey through the most interesting bits of quantum mechanics. The course as a whole felt like it respected my time with interesting + pedagogical problems. The quantum information portion of the course (centering around entanglement) was fascinating (but I admit to heavy bias). The portion of the course on symmetries was also great. Content felt advanced, but explained very clearly and patiently.
  • Difficulty Rating: 4/5 - Definitely a more advanced approach to quantum mechanics. There were some concepts that didn’t fully click until TAing the course a year later.
  • Overall Rating: 5/5 - Possibly my favourite physics course to date.

PHYS 403 - Statistical Mechanics

  • Instructor: Philip Stamp
  • Textbook: None; used notes written by Stamp.
  • Topics Covered: Probability, Indistinguishability in Quantum Mechanics, Thermodynamics, Temperature, Thermodynamic Potentials, Heat Capacity, Chemical Potential, Ideal Gases, Microstates and Macrostates, Density of States, Microcanonical Ensemble, Entropy, Canonical Ensemble, Grand Canonical Ensemble, Quantum and Classical Gases, Fermi-Dirac Statistics, Bose-Einstein Statistics, Maxwell-Boltzmann Statistics, Bose Einstein Condensation, Superfluids, Photon Gas, Planck Distribution, Black Body Radiation, Fermi Liquids, Introduction to Phase Transitions.
  • Thoughts: I appreciate this course for not just delving into the theory of statistical mechanics but also analyzing a very wide array of systems through it. The course structure felt a bit disorganized/chaotic, but there is a lot of interesting concepts here to think about. Stamp likes to often give historical context for discoveries and developments, and lectures therefore have a nice story-like flow to them (even if explanation of topics can be occasionally unclear). I don’t think I completely understood some of the topics introduced in the course (e.g. Bose Einstein Condensation) but I did enjoy the material. And I did walk out with a better understanding of the fundamental ideas of statistical mechanics, which is good!
  • Difficulty Rating: 3.5/5 - Definitely some tricky problems (in lecture and in the assignments), though the exams were very fair. I don’t completely understand everything that was discussed.
  • Overall Rating: 3.5/5 - A bit chaotic, but also a good bit of fun.

ASTR 403 - Cosmology

  • Instructor: Douglas Scott
  • Textbook: Introduction to Cosmology by Ryden.
  • Topics Covered: Units in Astronomy, Olber’s Paradox, The Cosmological Principle, Redshift, Types of Particles, Special Relativity, General Relativity and Curvature, The Robertson-Walker Metric, Proper Distance, The Friedmann Equation, The Fluid Equation, The Acceleration Equation, The Cosmological Constant, Model Universes, The Benchmark Model, Measuring Cosmological Parameters, Types of Distances, Dark Matter, Gravitational Lensing, The Cosmic Microwave Background, Recombination, Temperature Fluctuations in the CMB, Nucleosynthesis, Inflation, Structure Formation, The Power Spectrum, Baryon Acoustic Oscillations.
  • Thoughts: A good self-contained and comprehensive introduction to cosmology. As a whole enjoyable, but as a whole taught me that Astronomy was not quite my cup of tea. Douglas was sarcastic and entertaining as usual, and clearly an expert in the field. Too many numbers for a fourth year course but perhaps inevitable. I also think the later content was more difficult to grasp, yet the available problems didn’t cover the material well (that is to say, doing the textbook problems from the later chapters didn’t particularly help in my understanding of the material). The poster project was fun, the exams were not. They were much too long, and although the problems are just taken from the textbook and/or reading quizzes (of which I did every single one), this tests memorization of how to solve problems rather than actual problem-solving skill which I don’t agree with.
  • Difficulty Rating: 3.5/5 - Nothing mathematically hard, but towards the end there are some harder concepts to grasp (e.g the CMB, Inflation, Structure Formation).
  • Overall Rating: 3.5/5 - Nice to finally understand the universe, but not sure if I enjoyed the course as much as I would have liked to.

PHYS 449 - Honours Thesis

  • Instructor: Rob Kiefl & Robert Raussendorf (supervisor)
  • Textbook: None.
  • Topics Covered: Scientific Writing, Scientific Presentations, Conducting Research. Topics in My Thesis: Quantum Computation, Measurement-Based Quantum Computation, Experiments with Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum Devices, Quantum Computational Power, Symmetry-Protected Topological Phases, Decoherence, Non-Unitary Operations, Variational Quantum Eigensolvers.
  • Thoughts: Hard to evaluate this a course because it’s really just a yearlong research project. The research was difficult but enjoyable and I learned quite a bit about the field (and am excited to pursue quantum computation further in graduate school). Perhaps one comment is that it is difficult to partition time between research and the high courseload in undergrad (and graduate school applications…). The opportunities to write and present are valuable, but perhaps there are one too many hoops to jump through (one not only needs to do a final presentation and thesis, but also a thesis proposal, a proposal presentation, and a progress report; perhaps some of this distracts from actual time spent doing research work).
  • Difficulty Rating: 5/5 - Conducting original research is hard (even with extensive support from supervisors), and so is writing and presenting about it.
  • Overall Rating: 4.5/5 - Research is slower and less linear than coursework (of course), but also more meaningful.

2. Math

SCIE 001 - Science One Mathematics

  • Instructors: Stephen Gustafson & Costanza Piccolo
  • Textbook: CLP-1 Differential Calculus and CLP-2 Integral Calculus by Feldman/Rechnitzer/Yeager.
  • Topics Covered: Limits, Continuity, Intermediate Value Theorem, Derivatives, Linear Approximation and the Euler Method, Implicit Differentiation, Antiderivatives, The Mean Value Theorem, Related Rates, Taylor Polynomials, Optimization, Curve Sketching, Riemann Sums, The Fundamental Theorem of Calculus, Substitution, Area, Volume, Integration by Parts, Trigonometric Substitution, Partial Fractions, Numerical Integration, Improper Integrals, Work, Averages, Centre of Mass, Differential Equations, Probability, Sequences, Series, Convergence Tests, Power Series, Taylor Series.
  • Thoughts: Well taught (I think Costanza and Stephen are both very effective teachers; and I particularly enjoy Stephen’s brand of humour), but I do wish the content was more proof-based and less bread-and-butter Calc I/II. There was a tricky, proof-based assignment for the first assignment and subsequent assignments were made too easy. I feel more proofs would set students up better for future mathematics courses, and as it stands I would recommend students interested in mathematics MATH 120/121 over Science One. Taeuk (Nam) was a fantastic TA. I found the first part of the course (Differential Calculus) to be much easier having done Calc AB, but the second half (Integral Calculus) was more novel. I think the volumes via integration portion gives me the most trouble; sometimes some good geometric intuition/visualization is required.
  • Difficulty Rating: 3.5/5 - The exams are a step up from high school, even if the content is somewhat standard.
  • Overall Rating: 3.5/5 - Nothing to complain about, but nothing super striking, either!

MATH 215 - Elementary Differential Equations I

  • Instructor: Wayne Nagata
  • Textbook: Notes on Diffy Qs: Differential Equations for Engineers by Lebl.
  • Topics Covered: Separation of Variables, Integration Factor, The Euler Method, Constant Coefficient Second Order Linear ODEs, Mechanical Vibrations, Nonhomogenous Equations, Forced Oscillations and Resonance, Phase Space, Systems of ODEs, Eigenvalue Method, Variation of Parameters, The Laplace Transform, Transforms of ODEs, Impulse Response.
  • Thoughts: Easily the least interesting math course I’ve taken in terms of content. Dr. Nagata also didn’t seem to enthusiastic about the material, though the lectures were clear. The MATLAB part of the homeworks could be completely removed as they don’t really add anything. The final (taken during the dawn of COVID-19) was a fiasco, with confusing instructions and stressful verification procedures.
  • Difficulty Rating: 2/5 - Nothing really hard, but that’s not saying much when nothing is really interesting.
  • Overall Rating: 1.5/5 - Boring is the word that comes to mind when asked to describe this course.

MATH 217 - Multivariable and Vector Calculus

  • Instructor: Stephen Gustafson
  • Textbook: CLP-3 Multivariable Calculus and CLP-4 Vector Calculus by Feldman/Rechnitzer/Yeager.
  • Topics Covered: Vectors and Geometry, Vector Functions and Curves, Surfaces, Functions of Several Variables, Continuity, Partial Derivatives, Tangent Planes, Linear Approximation, Chain Rule, Directional Derivatives, Gradient, Optimization, Derivative Tests, Lagrange Multipliers, Double Integrals, Polar Coordinates, Triple Integrals, Cylindrical and Spherical Coordinates, Line Integrals, Conservative Vector Fields, Surface Integrals, The Divergence Theorem, Green’s Theorem, Stoke’s Theorem.
  • Thoughts: I enjoyed Stephen’s teaching, but at the time I felt like this course moved too fast (covering Calc III/Calc IV in a single semester) and I wasn’t quite following along with the material (though looking back, the material is quite standard and I am surprised that I struggled that much at the time). I regret not taking MATH 226/227 which were more proof-based and went into more depth. The vector calculus theorems at the end of the course are probably the best part of the course, though one needs to wait until E&M to see their power in full force.
  • Difficulty Rating: 4/5 - Conceptually is a natural extension of first-year calculus, but moves fast.
  • Overall Rating: 3.5/5 - Well-taught, but not the most intriguing material.

MATH 220 - Mathematical Proof

  • Instructor: Boaz Elazar
  • Textbook: Book of Proof by Hammack.
  • Topics Covered: Sets, Logic, Direct Proof, Contrapositive Proof, Proof by Contradiction, Induction, Relations, Cardinality of Sets.
  • Thoughts: Boaz was super nice, and the course serves as a good introduction to proof (as it claims), meticulously going over the standard techniques and formalisms. It is a bit too easy, though (coming out of MATH 223/honours courses especially). I was forced to take it to satisfy degree requirements after switching from Biophysics to Physics and Math, but probably would not choose to take it otherwise.
  • Difficulty Rating: 2.5/5 - Not hard compared to honours math courses. May be trickier if it is one’s first introduction to mathematical proof.
  • Overall Rating: 3.5/5 - Nothing to complain about, but I wouldn’t have taken it unless I had to.

MATH 223 - Honours Linear Algebra

  • Instructor: Yaniv Plan
  • Textbook: None; used notes written by Richard Anstee. Linear Algebra and Its Applications by Lay and Linear Algebra by Friedberg/Insel/Spence were optional resources.
  • Topics Covered: Matrix Algebra, Inverses, Linear Transformations, Eigenvectors and Eigenvalues, Diagonalization, Change of coordinates, Gaussian elimination, Determinants, Abstract Vector Spaces, Span, Linear Independence, Dimension, Bases, Differential Equations, Complex Numbers, Vector Geometry, Orthogonal Vector Spaces, Gram-Schmidt Algorithm, Least Squares, Symmetric Matrices, Spectral Theorem, Singular Value Decomposition.
  • Thoughts: Fantastic course; finally felt like doing some ``real math’’ with proofs. The content was an excellent mixture of abstract mathematics mixed in with concrete examples and intuition (I think this combination is likely the best way to deliver an intro Linear Algebra courses). Some great in-class discussion and some super fun problems were solved along the way. Yaniv was very engaging and clear. Exams were brutal but scaled reasonably.
  • Difficulty Rating: 5/5 - Brutal examinations and difficult homeworks. Honours math courses do give me the impression of ``throwing students off the deep end’’ and seeing how they do. But at least here I think people do reasonably well in the end; the true difficulties arise in third year.
  • Overall Rating: 5/5 - The course that made me switch into doing a Combined Honours in Physics and Math (from Biophysics). Probably one of my favourite courses in university, and I can’t reccomend it enough.

MATH 300 - Introduction to Complex Variables

  • Instructor: Gordon Slade
  • Textbook: Fundamentals of Complex Analysis: with Applications to Engineering and Science by Saff/Snider.
  • Topics Covered: Complex Numbers, Complex Exponentials and Polar Form, Powers and Roots, Functions, Limits and Continuity, Derivatives, Analyticity, The Cauchy-Riemann Equations, Harmonic Functions, Polynomials, Trigonometric and Hyperbolic Functions, The Complex Logarithm, Branch Cuts, Contours, Contour Integrals, Cauchy’s Integral Theorem, Cauchy’s Integral Formula, Bounds on Analytic Functions, Series, Taylor Series, Convergence, Laurent Series, Zeros and Singularities, The Residue Theorem, Evaluating Integrals with the Residue Theorem, Iterated Maps: Julia and Mandelbrot Sets.
  • Thoughts: Slade is a good lecturer, with good pacing and very clear exposition, but the material didn’t jump out at me too much. Oftentimes it felt like Calc III/IV over again with an extra \(i\). That said, there were some beautiful theorems and the elegance of complex analysis did shine through, even if the problems were often overly computational. My favourite results of the course are probably the Cauchy Integral Formula/Residue theorem.
  • Difficulty Rating: 3/5 - No hard proofs, mainly computation/applying the theorems learned in class; do the practice problems and it is not too hard to do well.
  • Overall Rating: 3.5/5 - Elegant at times to be sure, but there are more stimulating math courses out there.

MATH 301 - Applied Analysis

  • Instructor: Gordon Slade
  • Textbook: Fundamentals of Complex Analysis: with Applications to Engineering and Science by Saff/Snider and Complex Variables: Introduction and Applications by Ablowitz/Fokas.
  • Topics Covered: Integrals of Multi-Valued Functions, The Argument Principle, Rouche’s Theorem, Analytic Continuation, Conformal Mapping, Mobius Transformations, The Schwarz-Christoffel Transformation, Solving Boundary Value Problems with Conformal Mappings, Solving Flow Problems with Conformal Mappings, Asymptotic Notation, Asymptotic Evaluation of Integrals, The Laplace Transform, The Gamma Function, Watson’s Lemma, Laplace’s Method, Stirling’s formula, Bessel Functions, Stationary Phase Theorem, The Method of Steepest Descent, Inverse Laplace Transform, Fourier and Inverse Fourier Transform.
  • Thoughts: Complex analysis round 2! While I thought the portion of the course focusing on Conformal mapping was very pretty (with a nice geometric intuition), the latter half of the course spent on asymptotic evaluation of integrals I found unfortunately both unintuitive and not the most interesting; a lot of long computations. Though to its credit, seeing how Stirling’s Formula can be derived from Laplace’s Method was a fun application.
  • Difficulty Rating: 3/5 - Basically the same difficulty as MATH 300; you don’t have to prove difficult theorems, but just know how to apply them.
  • Overall Rating: 3/5 - I enjoyed conformal mapping, but other than that on average the MATH 300 material was a little more fundamental and a little more interesting.

MATH 316 - Elementary Differential Equations II

  • Instructor: Shamil Asgarli
  • Textbook: None; used notes written by Anthony Peirce.
  • Topics Covered: Review of ODEs, Series Solutions to Differential Equations, Singular Points, Frobenius Series, Finite Difference Method, Separation of Variables, Fourier Series, Bessel’s Inequality, Parseval’s Theorem, Heat Equation, Eigenfunction Expansion, Wave Equation, D’Alembert’s Solution, Laplace’s Equation on Rectangular and Circular Domains, Boundary Conditions, Sturm-Louiville Theory.
  • Thoughts: Shamil was one of the most engaging math professors I had over the course of my undergrad. His enthusaism alone made this course great; unfortunately the material itself lies on the dull side (though better than the material of MATH 215). The course as a whole is a bit too computation heavy, but fortunately I took it in the summer where the course is accelerated so it did not drag on for too long. Fourier Series was the highlight in terms of material.
  • Difficulty Rating: 2/5 - Nothing too conceptually challenging; mainly computational.
  • Overall Rating: 4/5 - A case of fantastic prof, OK material.

MATH 318 - Probability with Physical Applications

  • Instructors: Geoffrey Schiebinger & Omer Angel
  • Textbook: Introduction to Probability Models by Ross.
  • Topics Covered: Permutations and Combinations, Probability Spaces, Conditional Probability, Discrete Random Variables, Continuous Random Variables, Expectation, Variance, Joint Distributions, Independence, Poisson Processes, Moment Generating Functions, Characteristic Functions, Convergence of Random Variables, Weak and Strong Law of Large Numbers, Central Limit Theorem, Statistical Estimation, Hypothesis Testing, Random Walks, Conditional Expectation, Markov Chains, Stationary Distributions, Branching Processes, Ising Model.
  • Thoughts: Very interesting course! Like MATH 217, this course covered two courses (MATH 302/303) in a single term (plus some additional topics). But unlike MATH 217, I didn’t feel overly rushed here and followed along well. A nice selection of topics, and although the course never got overly formal it was a nice overview of the probability theory that would be useful to physicists. The lectures were delivered well and the homework problems were for the most part quite interesting.
  • Difficulty Rating: 4/5 - Although not as rushed as 217, there are quite a few tricky concepts here, and a lot is covered.
  • Overall Rating: 4/5 - Highly interesting course, a great introduction to probability (and non-math students need not go further).

MATH 320 - Real Variables I

  • Instructors: Josh Zahl & Sven Bachmann
  • Textbook: Principles of Mathematical Analysis by Rudin.
  • Topics Covered: The Rational Numbers, Ordered Sets, The LUB Property, Fields and Ordered Fields, Integer Roots, Construction of the Real Numbers, The Complex Field, Euclidean Space, Cardinality, Topology of Metric Spaces, Compactness, The Cantor Set, Sequences, Cauchy Sequences, Limsup and Liminf, Series, Ratio and Root Tests, Power Series, Limits, Continuity, Intermediate Value Theorem, Derivatives, Mean Value Theorem, Taylor’s Theorem.
  • Thoughts: It was a really neat experience to build from the ground up the calculus I’ve been working with for the last three years. Brutually difficult exams, and homework is super time-consuming as well (though solving the interesting but hard problems together is definitely a bonding experience!) Highlight is definitely the chapter on topology. I appreciated Zahl for the absolute clarity and Bachmann for the down-to-earth enthusiasm during lecture. Neat format of video lectures covering the content and optional discussion sections during class time (though this did add to the already large amount of time that one would dedicate to the course).
  • Difficulty Rating: 5/5 - Lives up to the reputation of being one of the most difficult undergraduate courses; prepare to have your mathematical abilities pushed to their limits!
  • Overall Rating: 4.5/5 - Though gruelling, I came out of the course being much more proficient in math and with a deeper appreciation for it.

MATH 321 - Real Variables II

  • Instructor: Gordon Slade
  • Textbook: Principles of Mathematical Analysis by Rudin.
  • Topics Covered: The Riemann-Stieltjes Integral and its Properties, The Fundamental Theorem of Calculus, Sequences and Series of Functions, Uniform Convergence, Equicontinuity, The Stone-Weierstrass Theorem, Power Series, The Exponential Function, The Logarithm, Trigonometric Functions, Fourier Series, Banach Fixed Point Theorem, Differentiation of Multi-Variable Functions, The Inverse Function Theorem.
  • Thoughts: The continuation of MATH 320. The course feels a bit easier having gone through 320, though the material is probably harder. Still extremely fundamental. The units on Riemann-Stieltjes integration and Sequences/Series of functions are the best, with the course peaking with the Stone-Weierstrass Theorem; after that (going into special functions) my interest in the course dropped off a little. Slade is crystal clear in lecture as usual, and it really helps to have such a clear guide when the material is conceptually tricky (and Rudin is so terse). Adam Martens was also a very supportive TA. Exams and assignments continue to be challenging, as in MATH 320. My lecture notes for the two courses can be found here.
  • Difficulty Rating: 4.5/5 - On par or more difficult than 320, but I got used to it.
  • Overall Rating: 4/5 - Great, though not hitting quite the same highs as MATH 320.

MATH 322 - Introduction to Group Theory

  • Instructor: Vinayak (Nike) Vatsal
  • Textbook: Abstract Algebra by Dummit/Foote.
  • Topics Covered: Group Axioms, Dihedral Groups, Symmetric Groups, Matrix Groups, Homomorphism and Isomorphism, Subgroups, Centralizers and Normalizers, Stablizers and Kernels, Cylic Groups, Quotient Groups, Cosets and Lagrange’s Theorem, Isomorphism Theorem, Transpositions and the Alternating Group, Group Actions, The Sylow theorems.
  • Thoughts: I was excited to learn about abstract algebra, but unfortunately was dissapointed. The course felt pretty unorganized, with the lectures unclear and not feeling entirely connected to the homework problems and exams (which were absolutely brutal in terms of difficulty). The course also unfortunately suffered from a lack of motivation a lot of the time, which is unfortunate as the applications and consequences of group theory are immense and fascinating. I ended up withdrawing from the course, but am still looking forwards to learning about algebra in the future.
  • Difficulty Rating: 5/5 - Probably the most I’ve ever struggled with a course. But this could also just be that algebra doesn’t click as quickly for me as other fields of math.
  • Overall Rating: 1/5 - Probably the most dissapointing mathematics experience of my undergrad, and I don’t think the course did such a beautiful subject justice.

MATH 418 - Probability

  • Instructor: Gordon Slade
  • Textbook: A First Look at Rigorous Probability Theory by Rosenthal.
  • Topics Covered: Probability Spaces, \(\sigma\)-algebras, Probability Measures, Extension Theorems, Lebesgue Measure, Random Variables, Independence, Limsup and Liminf of Events, Borel-Cantelli Lemma, Tail Fields, Kolmogorov 0-1 Law, Distributions, Culmulative Distribution Functions, Expectation, Mean, Variance, Covariance, Modes of Convergence, Probability Inequalities, Weak and Strong Law of Large Numbers, Probabity Density Functions, Gambler’s Ruin, Convergence Theorems, Moment Generating Functions, Large Deviations, Weak Convergence, Characteristic Functions, Continuity Theorem, Central Limit Theorem, Uniform Integrability, Random Walks, Branching Processes, Percolation.
  • Thoughts: A good introduction to rigorous probability theory, as the textbook title suggests. Great if you want further insight into the mathematical foundations of probability, but likely unnecessary for most physicists who just want to use it as a tool. Midterm was fair, final was brutal. Slade is clear and well-paced in lectures as usual, and his enthusiasm (probability being his field of research) is evident. I would probably reccomend taking this over MATH 420; as Mark Kac says, “Probability Theory is a measure theory with a soul”, and there is a nice mix of rigorous theory and application here.
  • Difficulty Rating: 4.5/5 - The material and assessments are both challenging; unsurprising for a grad crosslisted course.
  • Overall Rating: 4/5 - A clear but rigorous course; that said I think taking both this and MATH 318 was unnecessary, and while I think I understand probability at a deeper level having gone through it, I don’t know if the added insights were worth the stress.

MATH 420 - Real Analysis I

  • Instructor: Young-Heon Kim
  • Textbook: Real Analysis: Modern Techniques and Their Applications by Folland.
  • Topics Covered: \(\sigma\)-algebras, Measures, Outer Measures, Borel Measures, Measurable Functions, Lebesgue Integration, Modes of Convergence, Convergence Theorems, Product Measures, Multi-variable Integration and Fubini-Tonelli, Signed Measures, The Lebesgue-Radon-Nikodym Theorem, Complex Measures, Differentiation on Euclidean Space, Norms, \(L^p\) spaces, Inequalities with Norms, Convolution, Optimal Transport.
  • Thoughts: Rigorous, but unfortunately a little dull. Some interesting results, but overall felt a bit too abstract and theoretical. Just take 418 if you want to see it in a more concrete context; 420 might only be worth it to take MATH 421 (Functional analysis) where the fruits of the labours of 420 can be appreciated. Kim was a good lecturer, though ocassionally a bit chaotic with blackboard organization. The homework and final exam were both hard but graded leniently.
  • Difficulty Rating: 4.5/5 - The level of abstraction here makes it quite difficult; again unsurprising for a grad crosslisted course.
  • Overall Rating: 3/5 - A little bit too abstract and not inherently interesting enough for me to fully appreciate.

MATH 426 - Introduction to Topology

  • Instructor: Ben Williams
  • Textbook: None; used notes written by Williams. Topology by Munkres and Algebraic Topology by Hatcher were optional resources.
  • Topics Covered: Topological Spaces, Separation Axioms, Continuity, Generating Topologies, Induced Topologies (The Subspace and Product Topologies), Coinduced Topologies (The Quotient Topology), Closure, Interior, Boundary, Density, Sequences, Compactness, The Tube Lemma, Compactness in Metric Spaces, Compactifications, Connectedness, Path-Connectedness, Basic Category Theory, Homotopy, Homotopy Category and Homotopy Groups, Contractible Spaces, The Fundamental Groupoid, The Fundamental Group, The Van Kampen Thoerem, Quotient Maps, Topological Groups, Group Actions, Quotients by Group Actions, Covering Spaces, Fundamental Group Action, Lifting, Classification of Covering Spaces, Deck Transformation, Fundamental Groups of Quotients, Quotients by Subgroups, Quotients by Group Actions.
  • Thoughts: In my top 2 favourite math courses. Ben is a good lecturer; quick but also clear, pedagogical but also very humourous. Homeworks had some really interesting problems and all felt meaningful (compared to the occasional feeling of doing meaningless exercises in other courses). Topology proofs tend to be very clean and/or theatrical, particularly with the algebraic flavour that Ben likes to give. Admittedly abstract (a point that was a negative for MATH 420), but so visual and enjoyable that it didn’t matter. My favourite part of the course was probably Homotopy Theory and the Fundamental Group. I will admit that my understanding nosedived in the last unit (covering spaces), but this could just be due to me having poor algebra skills.
  • Difficulty Rating: 5/5 - A lot of terminology, and a lot of techniques. The point-set half of the course is alright in difficulty, but the algebraic topology half of of the course is difficult indeed.
  • Overall Rating: 4.5/5 - Fantastic, and also feels like a nice way to end off a degree in mathematics, tying together analysis and algebra.

3. Computer Science

CPSC 110 - Computation, Programs, and Programming

  • Instructor: Gregor Kiczales
  • Textbook: None.
  • Topics Covered: Functional programming in Racket, Functions, Recursion, Data Types, Self-Reference, Reference, Helper functions, Binary Search Trees, Mutual Reference, Local Functions, Abstract Functions, Generative Recursion, Search, Accumulators, Graphs.
  • Thoughts: Surprisingly deep for an intro CS course. Gregor was an effective instructor, and the flipped-classroom with problem-solving during class was a good format (as really the learning here is done by programming and solving problems, rather than just listening). At the end I came out of the course with the ability to solve some genuinely interesting and fairly complicated problems. The paradigm of functional programming was new to me and it was fun to be exposed to it here. Designing programs to draw fractals and solve sudoku puzzles were my favourites.
  • Difficulty Rating: 2/5 - If one puts in practice, doing well is not too difficult (but this is quite subjective; the course is famously bimodal in its distribution).
  • Overall Rating: 4/5 - Quite rich and enjoyable, and I could reccomend it to almost anyone.

CPSC 210 - Software Construction

  • Instructor: Norm Hutchinson
  • Textbook: None.
  • Topics Covered: Object-oriented programming in Java, Methods, Classes, Objects, Variables, Conditionals, Loops, Data Abstraction, Types, Interfaces, Extensions, Overriding, Exception Handling, Testing, Cohesion and Coupling, Liskov Substitution, Refactoring, Composite and Observer Patterns, Iterators.
  • Thoughts: Pretty boring; software design doesn’t particularly interest me, and the course didn’t have enough substance. But, picking up Object-Oriented programming and Java I hope will be useful, and the personal project is the one highlight of the course.
  • Difficulty Rating: 1.5/5 - There isn’t much here to learn, so not much effort required.
  • Overall Rating: 2/5 - Personal project was fun and that’s about it.

CPSC 221 - Basic Algorithms and Data Structures

  • Instructor: Geoffrey Tien
  • Textbook: Objects, Abstraction, Data Structures, and Design using C++ by Koffman/Wolfgang.
  • Topics Covered: Programming in C++, Asymptotic Analysis, Sorting, Stack and Heap Memory, Pointers, Linked Lists, Stacks, Queues, Trees, Binary Search Trees, AVL Trees, B-Trees, Hash Tables, Priority Queues, Heaps, Disjoint Sets, Graphs, Breadth-First and Depth-First Search, Minimum Spanning Trees, Kruskal’s Algorithm, Prim’s Algorithm, Dijkstra’s Algorithm.
  • Thoughts: Not very challenging, but a somewhat fun introduction. Material is useful for laying the groundwork for further algorithms courses, and for software engineering job interview questions. Picking up C++ is useful, though I don’t feel as comfortable with the language as 110’s Racket or 210’s Java (but the point of 221 is not to teach C++, so this is understandable). Geoff was an effective lecturer, concepts were clear. Programming assignments had a bit too much frustrating debugging when things would go wrong (but had some cool final products). I also didn’t really like how basically everything in the course was autograded (there is some resolution that is lost under the eye of machines), but I can see how that would save time.
  • Difficulty Rating: 2.5/5 - Everything here is fairly standard as long as one keeps up with the course content.
  • Overall Rating: 3/5 - Not bad, but not great either; a very bread and butter computer science course.

CPSC 340 - Machine Learning and Data Mining

  • Instructor: Michael (Mike) Gelbart
  • Textbook: None.
  • Topics Covered: Programming in Python, Data and Visualization, Decision Trees, Supervised Learning, Probabilistic Classification, Non-Parametric Models, Ensemble Methods, Clustering, Outlier Detection, Least Squares, Nonlinear Regression, Gradient Descent, Robust Regression, Feature Selection, Regularization, Linear Classifiers, Feature Engineering, Kernels, Stochastic Gradient Descent, Maximum Likelihood Estimation, Maximum a Posteriori Estimation, Principal Component Analysis, Sparse Matrix Factorization, Reccomender Systems, Deep Learning, Convolutions, Convlutional Neural Networks.
  • Thoughts: A fantastic introduction to machine learning. On the mathematical side. Lectures were entertaining and clear; Mike knows his stuff and how to explain difficult concepts. Homeworks were long but reaosnable and promoted understanding. Exams were conceptual which I appreciated. It was nice to finally see the theory behind a subject that seems to show up as a buzzword everywhere.
  • Difficulty Rating: 3.5/5 - If you’re comfortable with linear algebra, this shouldn’t be too bad; but certainly a lot more mathematical than other computer science courses, and there is a lot of conceptual material here.
  • Overall Rating: 4.5/5 - Easily my favourite CS course.

4. Biology

SCIE 001 - Science One Biology

  • Instructors: Jim Berger & Pamela (Pam) Kalas
  • Textbook: None.
  • Topics Covered: The Great Bear Rainforest, Ecology, Food Webs, Interpreting Scientific Data, DNA Structure, DNA Replication, DNA Repair, Gene Expression, Transcription, Mutation, Translation, PCR, Genotypes and Phenotypes, Mitosis and Meiosis, Genetic Analysis, Genetics of Populations, Phylogenies, Speciation, Selection, Predator-Prey Interactions, Membranes, Phospholipid Bilayers, Amino Acids, Proteins, Regulation of Gene Expression, The Lab Operon, Enzymes, Transport Proteins, Glycolysis and Fermenation, Respiration, ATP Production, Photosynthesis.
  • Thoughts: Definitely the most difficult component of the Science One program. But, there are certainly many interesting things that are learned across the wide variety of topics covered. I learned how to think critically and write precisely. I was a personal fan of Pam’s heavily discussion-oriented lecture style, which seems all the more unique after reflecting on all the courses I have taken (most of which stick with the traditional lecture format). The units on genetics were my favourite. The Term 2 final remains in memory as one of the most difficult finals I have ever written.
  • Difficulty Rating: 5/5 - A lot is expected of students, such as data analysis, quick problem-solving, and precise writing; making it very difficult to do well.
  • Overall Rating: 4/5 - This course changed the way I thought about Biology, and convinced me to pursue something relating to Biology (leading to my choice of degree program as Biophysics) before I later became more interested in Mathematics.

BIOL 140 - Laboratory Investigations in Life Science

  • Instructor: Rhea Storlund
  • Textbook: None.
  • Topics Covered: Scientific Reasoning, Development of Scientific Questions, Experimental Design, Tidal Ecosystems.
  • Thoughts: The course material was easy, bordering on boring (there were times where it felt a bit silly to be spending so much time on certain topics). The assignments were not particularly enjoyable. I do have fond memories of doing experiments with crabs and doing a field study at Bamfield Marine Science Research Station, but it seems unfair to give this course a high rating just because a single part of it took place during of my favourite university experiences. Another silver lining of the course was that I got to meet some friends in my lab group that I remain friends with today!
  • Difficulty Rating: 2/5 - Nothing conceptually difficult.
  • Overall Rating: 2.5/5 - Some great moments, but overall can’t reccomend the course itself.

BIOL 200 - Fundamentals of Cell Biology

  • Instructors: Liane Chen & Vivienne Lam
  • Textbook: Essential Cell Biology by Alberts/Lewis/Hopkin.
  • Topics Covered: Microscopy, Membranes, Phospholipid Bilayers, Nuclear Structure, Protein Import, Chromatin and Chromosomes, Gene Expression, Vesicle Traffic, Golgi Structure, Secretion, Lysosomes, Mitochondria, Chloroplasts, Cytoskeleton, Microtubulues, Microfilaments, Cell Cycle, Mitosis and Cytokinesis.
  • Thoughts: Vivienne was a kind and clear lecturer, but not sure if I have too much positive to say about the course otherwise. Some interesting facts here and there but as a whole the course failed to interest me; as a whole I found first-year biology more engaging. I probably have more gripes about the grading in this course than any other; at times it felt wholly arbitrary.
  • Difficulty Rating: 2.5/5 - Conceptually not hard, but the arbitrary marking makes it hard to do well.
  • Overall Rating: 2/5 - The fact that MATH 223 was so interesting and this course was so not made me drop the “Bio” in my then “Biophysics” degree, and pick up math instead.

5. Chemistry

SCIE 001 - Science One Chemistry

  • Instructors: Chris Addison & Guillaume Bussiere & John Sherman
  • Textbook: General Chemistry: Principles and Modern Applications by Petrucci/Herring/Madura/Bissonnette.
  • Topics Covered: Bonding, Lewis Theory, VSEPR Theory, Hydrocarbons, Conformations, Functional Groups, Stereochemistry, Thermodynamics, Enthalpy, Entropy, Gibbs Energy, Electrochemistry, Kinetics, Intermolecular Forces, Quantum Mechanics, Particle in a Box Model, Orbitals, Shielding, Valence Bond Theory, Molecular Orbital Theory, Acid-Base Chemistry, Substitution (SN1/SN2), Computational Chemistry.
  • Thoughts: Chem was unfortunately probably my least favourite of the four components of Science One. I didn’t find it as engaging as the others. I did find some engaging moments in the organic chemistry units. When there was overlap (e.g. Thermodynamics, Quantum Mechanics) I thought physics covered more interested aspects.
  • Difficulty Rating: 3.5/5 - Big step up from high school chemistry, with a lot of new concepts being thrown at you at once.
  • Overall Rating: 2.5/5 - Didn’t personally enjoy it too much, but may just be a matter of opinion.

CHEM 121 - Introductory Chemistry Laboratory I

  • Instructors: Sophia Nussbaum & Anne Thomas
  • Textbook: None
  • Topics Covered: Laboratory Techniques, Gravimetric Analysis, Oxidation and Reduction, Synthesis, Absorbance and Light Transmission, Chromotography, Volumetric Analysis, Standardization, Titration. Experiments done were Lead Content Analysis, Aluminium Crystal Formation, Food Dye Chromotography, and Acid-Base Standardization.
  • Thoughts: First-year chem labs just aren’t that enjoyable; it feels like being through the meat grinder with so many students in a room and the feeling that the lab doesn’t particulary care about the students. I thought it pretty silly that such a large portion of the lab grade went to quizzes that tested theory stuff over actual laboratory technique. The crystal formation lab was a fun experiment, and they have stuck around on my desk! Hootan (Roshandel) was also a very laid-back and friendly TA who single-handedly made the course bareable; I get the sense that the lab could be much worse depending on your luck of the draw with your lab TA.
  • Difficulty Rating: 2.5/5 - Not super hard to do well, but some proficiency with lab techniques required.
  • Overall Rating: 1.5/5 - Definitely would not take a chemistry lab ever again.

CHEM 123 - Introductory Chemistry Laboratory II

  • Instructors: Sophia Nussbaum & Anne Thomas
  • Textbook: None.
  • Topics Covered: Laboratory Techniques, Titration, Melting Point Analysis, Extraction, Purification, Chemical Kinetics, Acid-Base Chemistry. Experiments done were Effects of UV light on Vitamin C, Purification of Caffeine in Cola, Determination of Rate Law of Dye-Bleach Reaction, and Modelling the Blood Buffer System.
  • Thoughts: Basically the same as the 121 labs, except there are no labs that stand out to me in terms of being fun/intereting, and now actual lab reports have to be written, so its 2 times the amount of work and 2 times less fun. That said I got very lucky and had another very sweet TA (though regrettably I cannot remember their name). Also another frustrating point; there is less direction given in lab instructions, but you still have to get things right to get marks (compared to the first-year physics labs, where while the decrease in scaffholding with is similar, you are rewarded for just exploring things in a meaningful way).
  • Difficulty Rating: 3/5 - Basically the same as 121, but added difficulty comes in the form of reports and less direction.
  • Overall Rating: 1/5 - Lab reports make this slightly worse than the 121 labs; again would not repeat.

CHEM 233 - Organic Chemistry for the Biological Sciences

  • Instructor: John Sherman
  • Textbook: Organic Chemistry by Klein.
  • Topics Covered: Chemical Structure and Bonding, Nomenclature, Functional Groups, Valence Bond Theory, Stereochemistry, Aromaticity, Intermolecular Forces, Organic Acid-Base Chemistry, Substituion (SN1/SN2), Elimination (E1/E2), Electrophilic Addition to Alkenes, Reduction and Oxidation, Nucelophilic Addition to Aldehydes and Ketons, Carbohydrates, Nucleophilic Acyl Substitution of Carboxylic Acid, and Decarboxylation.
  • Thoughts: Not a super engaging course. A surprising amount of memorization. Drawing pictures for reactions I admit was sort of fun, and some mechanisms felt like puzzles. Not sure if John’s teaching style really clicked for me, though I do appreciate how laid back he was. I do felt there was a bit of a disconnect between profs who taught different sections; Jay (the instructor in charge)’s section seemed to cover the most relevant material (for the examinations), and as a result a 15% differential in the averages between sections was observed. Perhaps something to keep in mind for courses with multiple sections.
  • Difficulty Rating: 2/5 - Not super difficult, though has a reputation for being so.
  • Overall Rating: 2/5 - Reaction mechanisms were fun, but overall didn’t feel this course had a ton of substance or intrigue beyond the puzzle-solving.

6. Arts

PHIL 101 - Introduction to Philosophy

  • Instructor: Anders Kraal
  • Textbook: Discourse on Method and Meditations by Descartes, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding by Hume, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysis and Morals by Kant, and The Problems of Philosophy by Russell.
  • Topics Covered: A broad survey of ontology, including works by Aristotle, Plato, Epicurus, Aquinas, Anselm, Descartes, Hume, Kant, Russell, Wittgenstein, and Quine.
  • Thoughts: Many thought provoking ideas/arguments on ontology and the existence of God. Kraal was an engaging lecturer, presenting various points of view with clarity. Some fun in-class discussions, though the lecture format was fairly traditional.
  • Difficulty Rating: 2.5/5 - Nothing too conceptually tricky, but some ideas here meaty enough to mull over. Exams were straightforward enough if following the course material.
  • Overall Rating: 4/5 - A very enjoyable introduction to philosophy!

CLST 212 - Greek Philosophy II

  • Instructor: Michael Griffin
  • Textbook: Meditations by Marcus Aurelius and How to Be Free by Epictetus.
  • Topics Covered: A broad survey of Greek Philosophy after Socrates, including Plato, Aristotle, Socratic Movements, Stoicism, Marcus Aurelius, Epicureanism, Skepticism, Education, and Neoplatonism.
  • Thoughts: It was interesting to see how philosophy evolved from its roots, and Griffin was a good guide through the centuries of evolution. I was particularly intrigued by the birth of physics in the form of natural philosophy, and learning about various Ancient Greek cosmologies (and how they inspired later ideas). The course does demand a lot of you in terms of work (weekly discussion posts, class participation, essays, personal project etc.). As a whole other (later) schools/ideas in philosophy I do find more interesting, though.
  • Difficulty Rating: 2.5/5 - Nothing conceptually difficult (other than perhaps some of the discussion concerning Neoplatonism at the tail end of the course). However as is standard for Arts essays (which make up 50% of the course here), it is easy to do decent but very hard to do well.
  • Overall Rating: 3/5 - I think I would have appreciated this course more if I had more time to dedicate to it and critically engage with the material. I also think purely material wise there are other philosophers who I find more convincing; but still an enjoyable course nontheless.

PSYC 305A - Personality Psychology

  • Instructor: David King
  • Textbook: Personality Psychology by Larsen/Buss/King/Ensley.
  • Topics Covered: Personality Definition and Assessment, Traits and Taxonomies, Models of Personality, Stability of Personality in Space and Time, Genetic and Evolutionary Perspectives, Psychoanlytic and Analytical Theory, Motivational and Humanistic Perspectives, Cognitive Psychology, The Self, Authenticity, Sex and Gender, Intersectionality, Culture, Stress, Health, Emotion, Personality Disorders, Positive Psychology.
  • Thoughts: A pretty fun course! David is a good lecturer. I disliked the second half of the course (which in my opinion could just be removed) which discusses completely unscientific theories of personality. But the first and third parts of the course delve into some interesting topics and have some neat takeaways. I think there are some life advice takeaways such as in positive psychology and authenticity that are valuable.
  • Difficulty Rating: 1/5 - Course grade consists solely of three exams, which are mainly centered around memorization; so I didn’t struggle too much here (but this is quite subjective).
  • Overall Rating: 3/5 - Other than the second half of the course, the course was enjoyable and with some nice takeaways; didn’t feel quite as profound to me as cultural psychology, though.

PSYC 307 - Cultural Psychology

  • Instructor: Steven Heine
  • Textbook: Cultural Psychology by Heine.
  • Topics Covered: Culture and Human Nature, Cultural Evolution, Research Methods, Development, Socialization, Self and Persoanlity, Multiculturalism, Motivation, Cognition, Perception, Emotions, Attraction and Relationships, Morality, Religion, Physical and Mental Heallth, Organizations and Leadership, Justice.
  • Thoughts: Really fun course. Growing up in a multicultural environment, culture is something I wanted to learn more about and this course definitely satisfied that itch. Not a super high effort course (just MCQ exams and one paper) but some really interesting content. It also covers different aspects of psychology through a cultural lens, so is a good course to take even if new to psychology. Steve is a good lecturer, very knowledgeable.
  • Difficulty Rating: 1/5 - Exams are all MCQ and based on the textbook; I don’t struggle with memorization so this didn’t pose much of a challenge to me personally (but the perceived difficulty of this type of exam is quite subjective/high variance).
  • Overall Rating: 4/5 - A nice change of pace from all the physics/math courses I was taking, with some genuinely interesting content.